Gourmet Cooking - A Perfect Gift For Any Occasion
The many occasions for gift-giving which occur each year can cause tremendous financial strain, particularly during these difficult economic times. Gourmet food baskets are a quick and easy choice; you can order them online or over the phone and have them shipped directly to the recipient of your choice. However, these delicious presents can be very expensive: a sizeable basket may run $100.00 or more. The answer may lie as close as your kitchen; gourmet treats are economical, enjoyable to prepare, and make fantastic and personalized gifts for any recipient!
First, consider your intended recipient. What are their preferences? Do they have any dietary restrictions? Baked goods are a popular choice for gift-giving, but if your recipient is diabetic it’s important to bake with sugar substitutes or prepare a different category of food. It’s also important to know if your recipient observers any religious dietary laws, such as those followed by Jews, Muslims, and Eastern Orthodox Christians. For example, most people don’t know that Orthodox Christians do not consume any meat or dairy products for 40 days before Christmas, so baked goods given as gifts need to be made vegan during that time period.
Excellent choices for gourmet gifts include cookies in cookie gift baskets, cupcakes, homemade candy, pies, cakes, cheese/ meat selections, fruit baskets, vegetable / dip trays, and containers of homemade hot chocolate mix. Fruit baskets are perhaps the easiest to assemble; they only require a selection of fruit, an appropriately-sized basket, and perhaps some ribbon or festively-colored plastic wrap to complete the ensemble. While cookies and other baked goods require more preparation time and cleanup, they’re still quite simple to make and can be baked in large quantities for office parties and large numbers of recipients all in one baking session.
Homemade jams, preserves, and pickles are also excellent gourmet gift ideas. While canning and pickling is a lengthy process, and numerous safety concerns must be addressed in order safeguard against botulism contamination, homemade canned goods made a fabulous gift. Almost any fruit or vegetable can be preserved; sweet fruits may be made into jams, jellies, and preserves, while vegetables may be pickled. Certain fruits, such as the plum, also suit pickling well. Any kind of canning requires canning jars (available at most supermarkets), new 2-part lids (the jars are re-useable, but the lids are not), and a canning pot or pressure canner. Canning pots are suitable for pickling and processing high-acid foods, but lower-acid foods (such as most fruits) should be processed in a pressure canner to minimize the risk of botulism contamination. Canned goods may be festooned with decorative labels, and the lids covered with a piece of attractive cloth for purposes of gift-giving.
In conclusion, homemade gourmet foods are a wonderful way to give unique, personalized gifts at any time of the year, especially cookie bouquets. With a little forethought and preparation, you can save a good deal of money by preparing these items yourself, in the comfort of your home kitchen!